Sony PRS-505 Portable Digital e-Reader System (Silver)

Product Description

The new Reader (model PRS-505) features a svelte body design. Re-styled controls more closely mimic paper page turns and allow for quick, intuitive navigation.A next-generation electronic paper display delivers faster response and a higher contrast ratio for easy reading even in bright sunshine. Eight levels of gray scale provide for crisp and clear text, images, and graphics.This device is designed for people on the go, this device is compelling because it allows them to carry a wide variety of reading materials whether they are on a cross-country flight, in a doctor's office waiting room, or at a beach resort. The Reader can handle a stack of books and other documents that people would rather not carry, yet offers a 'book-like' reading experience unavailable with other electronic devices.With the capacity to store up to 160 typical eBooks, the Reader can act as a mobile library. Expansion slots for Memory Stick Duo media or SD memory cards make the device's library potential practically limitless.More advanced users will appreciate the USB-based mass storage capability that allows them to use the device as a portable drive for the direct transfer of documents, images and other files to the Reader. A new auto sync feature also lets users set up folders with books and documents that can be automatically synchronized when the device is connected to a PC.

I love my ereader. I've had it for over a year now. It came with a free 100 classics coupon that I used on the estore to choose 100 classics to download to my computer and ereader.

It's a thin, silver, sturdy-feeling gadget. It comes with a strong sandy-brown cover that protects the ereader when it's in transit. I don't use the cover when I'm reading at home. It's easy to hold and the screen is very easy on the eyes. It's easy to disinfect with alcohol and a cotton pad, similar to a cellphone or iphone, so I find it fairly hygienic.

I have over 400 books on my ereader now. I have a 8 GB SD card that I inserted into my ereader for additional memory. Almost all of the books are from the Sony ebookstore. If I ever lose my ereader, I can re-download all the ebooks from the Sony ebookstore. My ebooks are also all on my computer.

The computer software (free download from Sony ebookstore) is similar to an older version of itunes. All of my 400+ my books are in the "library", and I can drag and drop them into "collections". I'm a huge fantasy and romance fan, so I've got collections titled, "Charlaine Harris", "Patricia Briggs", "Mercedes Lackey", "Classics Shakespeare", and "LKH - Merry Gentry". I have the software set up to auto-synch the collections on my computer to my ereader.

Word and PDF documents can be viewed on the ereader too. There are 3 font sizes on the ereader, but for PDFs, the original formatting (the full-page view is what you get on the screen) is the smallest size, and when you increase the font size, you lose the formatting and sentences are broken up onto different lines. I have work documents on my ereader.

I am a huge reader and used to read 3-4 books a day. I had many bookcases in my house. I downsized to a smaller home and got the ereader. I found that I enjoy reading on the ereader more than on the regular books now. Regular books are bulky (try reading a big book without breaking the spine), stuck with only one font size, and take up room (if I was finishing book 2 of a series, I used to have book 2 and book 3 in my purse, which took up a lot of room). In comparison, each ebook takes no additional space than the ereader itself, I can change the font size to please my eyes, and I only have 1 bookshelf of rare and non-ebooks in my home. The ereading experience was so enjoyable for me that I purchased my favourite books as ebooks and donated the paper versions to the local library for other readers to enjoy.

For convenience, the ebook is amazing. It's small enough I barely notice it in my purse. When I'm on the subway, lying in bed reading, at my in-law's or at camp, I can scroll through all of my hundreds of books to see what I'm in the mood to read. My roomate doesn't complain about how many books I have (because I have fewer paper books and he can't see how many I have), people on transit can't tell what I'm reading, and the expandable SD card memory means all my ebooks are with me when I'm travelling. On a recent trip to Asia, I read 4 full-length new books on my ereader on one flight.

I have favourite authors and when their newest release comes out in hardcover (usually $24), I used to run out to get it. But then I always found that reading the hardcover was hard, because the book was heavy and bulky (and I tend to also read lying down and sideways). So when the mass market paperback would come out a year later, I would get that too (additional $10). In contrast, when a new release comes out for the ereader, I can download it from the Sony estore for $18 (discounted from the full hardcover price), have it to read on my light and thin ereader, be able to modify the font for my eyes, and not have to repurchase it later in a light format. So I really enjoy that.

The selection of ebooks for the Sony ereader is good. They have every book that I want except for Harry Potter (which apparently the author won't allow) and some older books. However, more and more older books are coming out, so I have the older Dragons of Pern, Valdemar, Lord of the Rings, type fantasy novels. Google books are also available from the Sony store.

I'm not tech-proficient, but it does not appear that other types of ebooks are supported on the Sony ereader, so you need to either have books in Word/PDF/Sony DRM format or something like that. I think I read that epub is available too.

What would I improve on the Sony ereader 505? Better PDF display including zooming options, some sort of light to read by at nighttime, better organizing ability for the software, and an AC adaptor to be included. The Sony ereader comes with a micro USB wire to connect to the computer. This is how it charges. The AC adaptor is sold separately.

I chose not to upgrade to the newer PRS-700 because I read that the screen is not as clear (due to the touch screen), and in store, the PRS-700 is thicker than my ebook because of the built in lighting system.

I'm from Canada, so the kindle is not an option for me. I've read that the kindle books are cheaper than the sony ereader books, but like I said, the kindle is not an option for me.

The Sony ereader 505 and the paid ebooks you can purchase are not for the frugal. If you want something to read for cheap, I'd suggest going to the library. If you're only partially frugal, you can get the Sony ereader 505 and then read the free public domain books out there.


When i read a novel on the Sony eReader, it's fine. It's another story when reading nonfiction. If you want to check out the footnotes, it's not clear how to do that. The photographs don't reproduce well. It's not easy to move back and forth between pages when you want to recall something you read before. I wouldn't buy an e-version of a nonfiction book again. I suspect the Kindle has similar limitations.


The Sony eBook Reader is omnivorous; It will use any of the most popular file formats. (With Kindle you must go through a translation process to read what you need.) The eBook Reader will save you lots of time because many of the books you want will not be purchased. You will collect them for free in the form of Adobe Acrobat files, RTF files and MS Word files. As a scientist, these formats are most important to me as they allow me to review my own work as others will see it.

Perhaps you will also want black & white photographs. This eBook feature allows you to see technical drawings (within reason).

I use the free Open Office word processor and it seamlessly creates all of these. I don't have to pay Microsoft or Adobe anything!

True, the eBook Reader comes with a nervous little program that allows you to purchase books in the proprietary format. This exists so that writers may be paid and encouraged in their work. Good for them but you and I need to get on with our work. We'll starve otherwise.

Here is what you do; Rather than put your Reader files into that program, merely put your memory card in your computer and load that in whatever format works. Reinstall in the Reader and be done with it!

Simple, no?

Sony neglects to tell you that an eight-gigabyte memory card won't work. That can be forgiven. Use a four-gigabyte card. That's plenty big.

Sometimes the cover with light flies apart. With dry hands, it is sometimes difficult to hold on to your reader. These things can be forgiven.

In the meantime, the industry is slow to establish appropriate mechanisms for authors to profit by their work through both Kindle and the Sony eBook Reader. Do us all a favor and use your Reader to learn how to write and publish for the new Reader industry. This is the modern life and it's good.


Wanting to get back into reading but not wanting a large pile used books to accumulate, I decided to look into digital readers. After comparing the PRS-505 to the Kindle 2, I decided on the Sony. The main selling point was the Sony digital reader's larger storage capacity with the addition of a SD card and/or memory duo pro and the ability for this reader to access and display .pdf. The later being extremely helpful for some of my college texts are provided as .pdf.

I am not certain if I would use the .pdf features for more complicated .pdf files but for textbooks/documents converted to .pdf it worked great.

As far as features, the PRS-505 has done everything I expected it would and more. The screen is very clear and easy to read; the system is a bit quirky but you can learn to navigate through its controls very quickly. Battery life is good; the buttons are easy to push. I don't have any issues with the sluggishness of the page turn as it doesn't bother me.

The problem I have experienced is within the hardware itself. The unit that I had purchased came with a faulty power button. Even though I slide it, the unit will not turn on. The only way I can get it to boot is to plug it into a computer using the usb cable. Once on, the unit work normally.

If I took the unit with me and I allowed it to enter sleep mode, unless I brought an usb cable and had a computer to access, the unit will not power on. I learned to deal with it by disabling the sleep feature.

The second problem I have come across was after shutting the unit down manually. The first time I had done it; the unit would not power on nor would the red charge light remain lit. I thought I had bricked the system but it ended up powering on after remaining plugged into the computer for about an hour.

The second time I powered the system down was to recreate the issue above. I wanted to know if it was a fluke. It was not. The system once again remained unresponsive for a LONG time after being manually shut down--serious brick mode.

I've learned that as long as I never shut down my PRS-505, allow it to go into sleep mode and make sure the battery remains charged, the unit works as it should. However, this laundry list of things to do to ensure it doesn't go into brick mode negates its portability which makes the situation ironic.

It now commonly resides on next to its authorized computer. Why do I even need the reader if I could just turn on my comp and read my files from there?

I am sure I will need to send it to Sony for repair/replacement and will do so eventually when something else fails.

Perhaps in a few months I will try the Kindle DX or wait to see if there's a Kindle 3 on the way with similar .pdf file capability. Until such time, I can make do with this reader so long as it is never turned off.



I had a Kindle 1st gen and decided I wanted to try the Sony Reader. It was a different experience from the kindle, mostly good, but some bad. Reading on the Sony was easier and more relaxed than kindle, but has limitations on Font size and consistency of text compared to kindle. Easier to hold and positive page turns as well as a better menu/navigation system made it my preferred reader. BUT the availability and loading of books was dismal in comparison to the kindle. The Sony E-Book site and the loading of books onto the Sony is not an easily understood process, nor is it as easy to use as kindle's interface. I tried also to convert some of my kindle books to Sony format and that was a difficult and frustrating process. I decided I did not want to bother with the process. Sony's price on books is almost always higher than Amazon's price, average of $3 to $4 per book. I'm giving the Sony to my Daughter and getting a Kindle 2. If you can stand the few downsides the Sony is a very pleasant reading experience ... if you can master the book load interface.


I bought this reader for my wife's birthday but I haven't given her a chance to use it yet! I bought the Sony rather than the Kindle because we live overseas and the wireless connection is useless to us, so why pay extra for it. The Sony fits our needs perfectly. The menus are easy to navigate and the text is plenty big for us... I don't bother with the zoom feature, but it works if you need it. There are some free books on the Sony book store and tons of free books available from Google... sure they are old any many are things you would never even consider reading, but hey, free is free. The ability to listen to MP3 music while you are reading is also a nice feature, although you'll probably need to buy a few SD cards (2 GB max) to store your music on. Overall this seems like a great, quality product... of course I've only had it for a few days so I don't know how reliable it will be yet.


I work in a college library which is considering making the Sony PRS-505 available to patrons. In the meantime, staff members, including myself, get to try them out. I've now had it for about three weeks and I have mixed feelings.

First some pros:

- The screen is surprisingly glare-free and easy on the eyes.
- It's easy enough to work out how to use it if you're the sort of person (like, er, um, well, like me) who would rather play with a piece of technology than read its instructions.
- It's certainly portable, which is why e-readers exist in the first place.
- The book-style case is a nice touch.
- It's nice being able to simply drag-and-drop items onto the book through Windows Explorer.

Now some cons:

- Its response time is very, very sluggish. I wouldn't call it unacceptably slow, but it definitely tries my patience.
- It requires a computer.
- There are eighteen buttons (or twenty-four, depending on how you count the d-pads). Near as I can tell, all but three of them--zoom, bookmark, and menu--only do one of two things: 'next' or 'select'; all others are redundant. It seems to me that the interface could be greatly simplified, which might also make room for a bigger screen.
- When it's plugged into the computer, you can't do anything with it until it's done charging.
- The menus are counter-intuitive and a bit weird to navigate.
- The lazy part of me says that the buttons are too hard to push.
- Let's face it: this thing is *ugly*.

Lastly, a quick disclaimer:

- I have only had this thing for three weeks. I do not know what it is like to actually live with it.
- This is the only e-reader I have had any experience with. At all.
- I do not read nearly enough to justify the cost of *any* e-reader.


I own this Ereader and I love the size of it and its idiot-proof design. However the Sony Ebook store can be quite frustrating because of the current lack of selection outside of recent/ current bestsellers. Also, the prices are on average higher than the ebooks for the Kindle, which all adds up. Overall, I still can't grasp why the ebooks, both Amazon and Sony, are so expensive. Considering we're saving the publishers costs which would have gone into printing and shipping, you would think the prices would be about half of the printed versions. Is it that costly to support the ebook store, especially for Amazon which already has online purchasing facilities for books?

I think the perfect ereader situation would be having the Sony EReader hardware, purchasing from the Amazon online bookstore and more competitive pricing.


I bought this in hopes for a decent, cheap alternative to the Kindle. So far, there's only one complaint I have: it's a bit slow. I haven't had the issues some of the one star reviews have had with it taking several minutes to an hour to load text. Also, I've found the software isn't necessary to load books onto the PRS-505, if you have basic knowledge of how to use a computer.
I'm very satisfied with the PRS-505, it's easy to use and doesn't strain my eyes any more than a regular book.


I have owned a Sony Reader 505 for a year now and I love it. I have many gadgets and this is one of the best. It is so much better than reading on a laptop or a palm. I don't know how people can read on a tiny palm screen. It never gets warm, it fits perfectly in my hands and the battery last for weeks...what more can you ask for. There is only one problem, I let my sister borrow it and I have not been able to get it back from her. I guess I will be going out to get the new Sony Reader 700. :) It is the easiest way to carry a whole library with you. For book lovers this is a must.

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About Sony PRS-505 Portable Digital e-Reader System (Silver) detail

• Amazon Sales Rank: #402 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Sony
• Model: PRS505SC
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Dimensions: .30" h x 6.90" w x 4.80" l, .56 pounds
• CPU: PowerPC G4 2.1 GHz
• Memory: 192MB SDRAM
• Hard Disk: 1GB
• Processors: 1
• Native resolution: 6"
• Display size: 6

Features

• displays eBooks purchased from the CONNECT eBook online store
• displays Adobe® PDFs, plus TXT, RTF, BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG and Microsoft® Word files
• plays MP3 and AAC files (protected files not supported)
• internal 192MB memory
• memory slot holds an SD Memory Card (up to 2GB capacity) and Memory Stick® Duo media (up to 8GB capacity)

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Aiptek PJV11X PocketCinema V10 Portable Projector (Silver)

Product Description

Portable Media Players are a thing of the past.  What good is watching your favorite movie or TV show on a 2 inch screen.  Slip the aiptek PocketCinema into your pocket and you'll be able to project a 42 inch image on any surface.  And with support for up to 8GB SDHC cards, you'll be able to carry hours and hours of video with you.  James Bond never had it this good. Features include LCos optical technology developed by 3M, project images up to 42 inches at over five feet away, project images from iPod, digital cameras, camcorders, mobile phones, and game consoles with composite AV out, supports JPEG, Video, and MP3, VGA resolution of 640x480, 10 lumens brightness, 4x3 aspect ratio, manual zoom and focus, can accept video in MPEG4, H.264, and AVI, MP3 audio, and 1GB of internal memory. Package contents include pocket cinema projector, power adapter, compact alloy tripod, usb cable, av cable, li-ion battery, remote control, pouch, quick start guide and CD with Arcsoft Media Converter software.

This product seemed very cool and looked very cool, and that is why I purchased it. It is not very user friendly and I have had to purchase many addition cables and add ons. The image is very dark and the brightness scale is only -4 to +4. The picture is not quality. The tripod is too light and the projector is very top heavy especially when hooked up to anything from the av port. The casing is very cheaply made, and I had to use a compound to make it better. The room has to be pitch black for the image to even look just decent on the screen. The remote control was so tiny that I have already lost it. I would not recommend this product to anyone.


A dream come true. To have a projector this size, no replacing lamps and with an internal memory!! Almost perfect. It deals well with JPG images, but the slide show it offers is automatic. Transition effects between images are good, but it is not programable. You put the files in the folder and it plays in alfabetical order, changing effect in each transition. You can set to loop, but the rest is automatic. It plays video too, but not the standad formats, so it comes with a software on a CD to make the convertion. Is works very well and you can set the resolution and choose from two different file formats, deppending on the compression needed. The software dont work on Mac, just Windows. It would be perfect if it had a VGA (RGB) input to connect directly to the computer as an external monitor. It has just a audio/video input, that works very well from a camera or DVD player. The battery in full charge lasts almost 2 hours. Comes with all cables, tripod, sleve case. You can use the inernal memory, loading it via USB (PC or MAC), ou put a SD card in the slot.
It's not bright in the day light, but indoors or at night it's very visible. Image is clear and sharp. I use it for art instalations , performence, small presentations, video testing and pure fun.


I'm not too good at writing reviews, but this little thing is awesome!
It is everything I hoped it would be and more. The picture is clear and the sound is quite good for the size it is. Others I considered didn't have speakers. As far as being in a really dark room, I actually used it with low lighting and it still projected nice and clear. I showed it to my friends and they were completly amazed. It even came with a tripod and remote control. I highly recommend the Aiptek Pocket Cinema V10, you won't be disappointed, at least I wasn't.


I idea is great. It falls short in a couple areas. First the movie conversion software is very limited. I find it doesn't really work for me.
The second problem is the heat. You can't touch the unit after 15 minutes. The remote won't turn the unit on.

I'd have to say look for a better projector.




Am not happy with this purchase, sounded like a good idea but I am very disapointed.


I like this product because it is small and can fit almost anywhere. I DJ and play music videos in clubs on the weekends. Before, I would have to carry a TV with me to view what im playing on the screens in the club. Now a can just throw this thing in my bag and project anywhere.

If you plan on using this in a lit room, forget it.

I almost returned this product because the menu screen never appeared to have a A/V input selection. I wasn't until i plugged a A/V source into it that the selection choice popped up.

[...]


I think is a decent product for price, size and capabilities. I did buy other cables to be able to use it with my iPod and my laptop, and it works well. I plugged it in the wii, and its awesome. I have a sound system that works well with it, and I love watching movies in it. I don't know why someone said that you can't plug it to the AC while watching a movie (yes you can) and it does run crazy hot. (SERIOUSLY, touch it and burn). Aaaand it only works at night, when the lights are off... etc etc... but I like it. It works great with everything and all my friends were very impressed by it. I would recommend it if you can make your gatherings at night.


I used this projector and was happy with the results. It doesn't have the strongest projection ability and it isn't the brightest, but it works well. I plugged it into my DVD player and it isn't too bad. Didn't know that I couldn't use it while it was plugged into my computer. I agree with some of the other users that you need to have a dark room or the picture wont be that clear. But I believe that it's only 10 Lumens. What do you expect right? Can buy a Ford Fiesta and expect it to do 0-60 in 5 seconds. Decent but might be disappointing if you're expecting to put on a New Years Eve show in your living room with a strobe light and fog machine. I would recommend this product if you are interested in something that is simple and mobile that fits a budget. Also would be good for small presentations.


Sure, I am a gadget fiend and snapped this up, thinking it would be great to watch a movie or two during long winter nights. Well, I did get to watch a little bit but here are the issues:

1. Dark output. As other users have pointed out, this baby need big time darkness. Turn off all the lights, blow out the candles and don't think about taking out that shiny ipod/laptop screen. Even with all that, the video is dark.

2. Weak battery. Like not enough to watch a 1-1/2 hour movie. So if you want to check out anythign longer than an hour episode of Dexer, foh-ghet-it. And, as far as I could see, you can't run this while connecting to a power outlet.

3. Run the movies off your ipod or a laptop (which must have an s-video or perhaps composite outlets). The projector, as others have already mentioned, is way finicky about its video files. And the converter that comes with it creates these multi giga monstrosities that you'll need huge memory cards for.

4. Runs Bahama hot. Don't touch.

On the positive end, this is fun to play around with, but not worth anywhere near this price tag...


I was very dissapointed with this pocket projector. I read one review in which it said to be reasonable with your expections. I tried to be reasonable but this product is terrible. I sent it back the same day I received it. You have to be using it in a dark room during an eclipse to see anything. Save your money and buy a decent projector which you can actually use.

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About Aiptek PJV11X PocketCinema V10 Portable Projector (Silver) detail

• Color: Silver
• Brand: Aiptek
• Model: PJV11X
• Dimensions: 3.25" h x 6.00" w x 7.50" l, 1.50 pounds

Features

• Handheld portable projector
• VGA resolution at 640x480
• Projects image up to 42 inches from up to five feet away
• Project images from iPods camcorders game consoles and other devices with composite AV out
• Supports JPEG MPEG4 H.264 and MP3 formats

Read more Aiptek PJV11X PocketCinema V10 Portable Projector (Silver)

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Iris USOA447 IRIScan Express 2 Portable Scanner

Product Description

Scan Anywhere. Get Organized! The iriscan Express is pure portability powered by an extended software suite, so you can get things done!

It's a little slow...but if you don't have big scanner needs and just want a compact scanner for occasional use then look no further. This scanner is easy to use, light and portable.


Greatly disappointed. The software provided did not function with Vista. Would not scan. After several reinstallations, removal caused a system crash. Support is extremely weak. No guidance on website, superficial fixes to problems, very little documentation. After several days waiting for response to my email asking for help, I received direction to contact them by phone 9-5, M-F EST, as if some of us don't have to work for a living. Never received an answer to my second email. Product has been returned.


I just needed a scanner to copy receipts for submission while on the road.
This one is compact, packs easily, doesn't need a separate power supply.
I like it a lot, but have never tried the OCR feature.


I purchased this scanner with two goals in mind: first, to have a portable scanner I could take with me on business, and second, to simply convert paper documents into pdf files.
Unfortunately, I was never able to successfully meet the second goal.
If you are a person who is only trying to convert paper documents to a pdf file, and you don't have many hours of free time, then DO NOT purchase this item. If, however, you are a home-user with lots of free time to learn and understand the myriad options available, and you don't mind troubleshooting performance problems, troubleshooting software installation, etc... then this is definitely the toy you've been looking for to fritter away a couple of weekends.
I experienced numerous problems installing the software, and since there is no manual (it's on the CD and requires software installation) it was almost impossible to troubleshoot. Finally, I was able to install the software, which installed "button manager" tools in my desktop tray that I never used or needed. Next, I tried to scan a document. After literally 2 hours and 15 minutes of frustration, I was able to figure out how to scan a document (NO, I don't want to convert it to editable text, NO I don't want to enhance it, NO I don't want to automatically crop it, NO... can I just scan it, and save it as a PDF please? PLEASE??? No such thing. After hours of trying to figure out if it scans to PDF, I was never able to do it. I gave up and scanned everything in jpeg images, which created huge files. Then, the next time I tried to use the scanner, errors popped up, and I had to unplug the USB cable, plug it back in, and then fiddle around with the options to troubleshoot it. After some trial and error, I once again got it to work (had to turn off the automatic cropping feature that I don't want or need). After a month of using the scanner, it started scanning only portions of the document, leaving the remainder of the document either blank or blacked-out. I was never able to troubleshoot or fix this, since it does it only intermittently.
So I gave up, purchased a $39 flat bed scanner, installed the software in 8 minutes, and scanned to PDF files in another 5 minutes.
Now, to be fair, I'm sure this little scanner will eventually do what you want it to, but I lack the patience and the hours of free time in my job to mess around with learning the myriad different options and settings. Once again, if you want to perform a simple task, buy a simpler product.


<a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R2N2D5ZN2GHA31">Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2N2D5ZN2GHA31</a>


Finally a real portable/travel scanner for MAC OS X. Nothing powerful as no duplex (copying both side in one pass). Its small foot space and no need to have/use a clunky AC adapter makes it convenient to take when traveling. Good to great software included. Worth the price and even better when on sale or with rebate. Can be a memory hog if scanning too much.


Remember in the 1960s when you'd buy a product made in Asia that would come with English-language instructions? Well the instructions for this are even worse. It's actually a fantastic product, but I don't understand some of its features and can't gather the info I need either from the company's web site or what is included in the box. Also, WARNING: Don't lose the calibration sheet that comes with this (as I did) because just when you need the scanner to work best, it will ask for that sheet and won't work again until you insert it.


Like many Mac users I'd been frustrated in my search for a native Mac business card scanner. The IRIScan Express 2 seemed to have all the right features, and the price was right. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. Here are the issues

- Under OS 10.5.1 (and I'd bet every other release) the software crashes regularly and takes unsaved data with it
- Complex interface. I'm the guy everyone comes to for computer help, and it took me a frustrating hour to understand how to use the item
- Product activation codes that shipped with system were wrong. Was able to get them from IRIScan user support, but it took a few days. And of course before I figured out the problem was wrong codes I wasted an hour or two troubleshooting
- Compared to Cardscan for Windows, the OCR is primitive. It does OK if the card has large black type on a white background, but that's it. Different colors or unusual layouts throw it way off though Cardscan can read most of them OK.

Next step for me? I'll either use Cardscan under bootcamp and this app to move data to address book http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19177 or I'll just start entering cards manually.

If you are looking at this purely as a doc scanner and don't plan on using the OCR software, it may be OK- its small and seems well made. However, my guess is you can do better elsewhere.



It did exactly what it claimed to do. When I called their customer support i got a person not an answering machine and my question was answered. My question was the scanner wasn't working on a 2nd PC. The problem was i did not follow the installation procedures on my 2nd install, and i had to redo the install.
Overall, it works with no issues.



After reading the nasty review below I was hesistant, but then I saw all the references to another product and just figured it was a competitor. I have the iris biz card scanner and it works like they said it would, so I have had good luck with their products. I saw this portable scanner being demo'd at macworld and decided to buy at Amazon because they had the best price. It works like I expected. Its small, easy to travel with, doesnt seem slow to me when scanning and is very accurate which is most important to me. Has a bunch of software included but I prob won't use some of them, just scanning documents and business cards while traveling are my needs and it does it great. I would recommend.

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About Iris USOA447 IRIScan Express 2 Portable Scanner detail

• Brand: Iris
• Model: USOA447
• ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
• Platforms: Windows XP, Windows 2000, Macintosh, Windows Vista, Mac OS X
• Format: CD
• Original language: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish
• Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, .73 pounds

Features

• Highly portable USB-connected color scanner ideal for remote projects
• Can convert documents to PDF, Word, Email, Excel, and more
• Included Cardiris software scans business cards into Outlook contacts; Roxio software lets you scan old photos
• Recognizes 124 languages, including several Asian and Middle Eastern
• Measures 1.9-by-9.7-by-1.3 inches (HxWxD); compatible with Macintosh and Windows

Read more Iris USOA447 IRIScan Express 2 Portable Scanner

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